News by Category

October 8th, 2009

Online Gambling Group Takes to "The Hill"

October 8, 2009 (PAP Newswire) --The Hill, one of the United States’ most popular Internet political sites, has just featured an article written by Michael Waxman of The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, stating, in so many words: Hey, tax us, already!

The article comes as the latest installment of the Initiative’s current advertising drive to place the issue of legalized, regulated, and taxed online gambling in the forefront of America’s political ambitions.

“Up to $48 billion in new revenue would be generated over the next decade by regulating and taxing Internet gambling, according a PriceWaterhouse-Coopers analysis,” Waxman writes. “While not a panacea, this proposition is gaining support in Congress, as many vital government programs risk being underfunded or scrapped altogether.”

The Hill is one of the go-to sites for many Americans interested in political updates — especially those with somewhat of a casual interest, making it all the more useful a venue. (Casual observers are less likely to be aware of the specifics of the issue, or to be aware of it at all, for that matter.)

“Whether you support or oppose the idea of giving Americans the freedom to gamble online, the activity is flourishing in an uncontrolled marketplace, sending billions in revenue out of the U.S. economy, overseas and underground,” Waxman continues, trying to bring the message home that billions of dollars — sorely needed right now — are being wasted by the current outdated stigmas attached to gambling.

“Despite attempts to prohibit the activity, Americans continue to wager online more than $100 billion annually. Though the law succeeded in driving several publicly traded Internet gambling operators to stop accepting wagers in the U.S., many unlicensed, offshore operators have continued to accept wagers and exploit U.S. policies.”